Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods is a living and breathing golf genius. Of that, there is no doubt. An elite combination of power, finesse and athletic prowess, he single-handedly redefined the game of golf and made it his own through a countless number of exciting tournament victories. The high-profile multimillion dollar endorsements haven't hurt either. While Tiger Woods has continued his mastery of the PGA into the new decade, he has become equally famous for his shocking infidelities. His scandalous forays with women have left a permanent stain on his once squeaky-clean image and have also reminded the rest of us of how bad text messaging and voice mail habits can irreparably harm a marriage.

After his relationship fell apart amid his 2009 infidelity scandal, Tiger's prowess on the course significantly diminished. He wasn't anywhere near his previous form on the course until the Chevron World Challenge in early December, 2011. After another year and half of up-and-down play, Woods finally regained his form and title of No. 1 golfer in the world in March 2013. His victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational (his eighth at Bay Hill) gave Tiger 77 PGA Tour wins -- only five short of Sam Snead's all-time record.

Appeal

The incredible golf talents and youthful appeal of Tiger Woods gives him a significant advantage over his peers when it comes to meeting women. Not only has he brought significant skills to the golf world, but he's also spawned a new era of golf groupies. It would actually be one of his golf buddies, Jesper Parnevik, who would introduce Tiger Woods to his future wife, Elin Nordegren, an ex-model-turned-nanny for Parnevik's family. Their 2004 marriage produced two children, private residences on two continents (including a $39 million Florida home) and a sizable yacht named Privacy. Unfortunately for the couple, any sense of privacy disappeared with the revelation a few years later that Tiger was swinging at more than just golf balls.

Despite the embarrassing -- or impressive, if you ask Bill Clinton -- number of infidelities on his personal resume, Tiger Woods still has a number of hobbies and good qualities, apart from chasing women who aren't his wife. Besides being an avid fisherman who has gone fly-fishing as far away as Ireland and Alaska, Tiger Woods is one of the most charitable sports figures out there. As the creator of a foundation, a learning center and an annual concert event that all bear his name, Tiger Woods has been at the forefront when it comes to helping underprivileged children and getting youngsters interested in golf. In the midst of his own marital turmoil, he also found time to donate $3 million of his own money to victims of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.

Success

Golf has been one of life's cornerstones for Tiger Woods since he was a toddler, and his continued success has placed him among the greats of the game and among the most successful athletes of all time. To date, he has amassed over 70 PGA victories and won at 14 majors, including 4 each at the PGA Championship and the Masters, respectively. His success also extends into the realm of endorsements, which -- when coupled with his string of professional golf earnings and accolades -- have made him the first athlete to earn over a billion dollars over the course of his career.

So what are the keys to success for the unstoppable golf force known as Tiger Woods? On the green, his strengths come from his long driving skills, solid iron play and clutch putting abilities. His consistency is second to none and he is adept at capitalizing on the mistakes of his competitors, because he rarely makes them himself. As one of the golf world's most dedicated professionals, he practices his game for hours at a time and he's also a dedicated all-around athlete to boot, with the ability to bench-press a solid 300 pounds. In addition to his wide array of physical advantages, Tiger Woods is just a smart player with an unwavering playing attitude that makes him intimidating and incredibly effective when it counts.

Although 2010 and 2011 were off years for Tiger as he struggled to recover from the massive sex scandals that erupted around him in 2009, he has left no doubt that his comeback is complete.

"In order for me to play the way I know I can play, I had to get full fit," he said. "I had to get healthy to where I was strong and explosive again so I could practice... I was finally able to practice, then my practice sessions started building and building and building."

All we can say it, the competition better watch out.

Tiger Woods Biography

The journey of Tiger Woods from golf prodigy to golf professional began at age 2, when he was already learning to swing from his athletic and influential dad, Earl Woods. By 5, he already attained more television exposure than most adults could hope to amass in their lifetimes, thanks to a TV golf match on The Mike Douglas Show against the legendary Bob Hope, and further appearances on That's Incredible and Golf Digest. Seeking further inspiration, he began playing motivational tapes while honing his golf swing in his bedroom mirror. The added practice paid off. Able to score 80 by the age of 8, he became a regular participant in the Junior World Golf Championships, which he won four straight times. As a teenager, the budding superstar would impress golf legend Jack Nicklaus at a golf event and play in a youth tournament with future golf star John Daly.

With titles like U.S. Junior Amateur Champion and Southern California Amateur Player of the Year to his name, Tiger Woods was courted by the college circuit following his 1994 graduation from Western High School. He settled on the pursuit of an economics degree at Stanford, but after a two-year stint and a victory at the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship, he realized that there would be much greater golf (and economic) opportunities at the professional level. With that, Tiger Woods got his professional start on the PGA Tour in the summer of 1996. By year's end, he would be named by the PGA Tour as its Rookie of the Year and capture the illustrious Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year Award at the shockingly young age (by golf standards) of only 21. Any accusations of beginner's luck were quickly silenced a few months later when Tiger Woods competed in The Masters, finished with a record score and became the first African-American player to walk away victorious.

Tiger Woods Dominates The Golf World

As he conquered golf tournaments at an exhausting pace through the late 1990s and into the 2000s, Tiger Woods became an unbeatable talent on the green. In 2000 alone, he won three straight majors, equaled or set 27 PGA records, won golf's Triple Crown, and claimed victory on nine of the year's official PGA Tour events. He would cap off this success with yet another win at the Masters in 2001, a victory that gave him a "Tiger Slam" of four major title wins in just over a year. Now the only athlete to ever win the Sportsman of the Year award on two separate occasions, Tiger Woods stayed atop the world golf rankings for more than 260 weeks before a surprisingly lengthy series of average performances dropped him from the top spot in 2004.

Over the next four years, Tiger Woods regained his prowess and endured as the world's best golfer. Among other achievements, he would again be the top money leader on the PGA Tour (2005), win the Masters again (2005), the British Open and Buick International (2005 and 2006), and be named the PGA Tour Player of the Year in 2005, 2006 and 2007. Continued endorsement deals with Nike and Buick, along with new ones from the likes of Gatorade and TAG Heuer netted him millions of dollars, which made him the world's first billion dollar athlete by 2009. The achievements on the golf course and incredible marketability of Tiger Woods were instrumental in helping professional golf reach a younger audience and in encouraging golfing hopefuls to follow their dreams toward careers as PGA golfers. In short, Tiger Woods had become the golfing equivalent of Michael Jordan.

Personal Scandal

Despite having all of the golfing achievements and endorsement deals that he could ever hope for, the private life of Tiger Woods very quickly began to overshadow his professional accomplishments. Following a late-night car accident in the winter of 2009, rumors surfaced that Tiger Woods wasn't being faithful to his wife, Elin Nordegren. Those rumors turned to fact when Jaimee Grubbs, a California-based waitress, provided incriminating voice mails and text messages that were directly from Tiger Woods. More women came forward from all walks of life -- including TV personalities and adult film stars -- leaving the once-innocent Tiger Woods caught up in the kind of sex scandal that only Charlie Sheen would know how to handle.

The scandal of Tiger Woods and his many lady friends only got uglier before it started to get better. He left the golf world temporarily to deal with the situation, but the allegations provided his public image with a PR beating that prompted some of his previously proud sponsors like Gillette, Accenture and AT&T to suspend or nullify his endorsement contracts completely. After a long period of public silence, Tiger Woods reemerged in February of 2010 with a press conference that reiterated regret and remorse for his behavior, and solidified his commitment to bettering himself through therapy and better family values.

Finds Buddha

After 45 days of rehab, as well as claiming to have found the guidance he needed by rediscovering Buddha, Tiger Woods once again addressed the public about his affairs. "It was hurtful, but then again, you know what? I did it," he said to the Golf Channel. "And I'm the one who did those things. And looking back on it now, with a more clear head, I get it. I can understand why people would say those things. Because you know what? It was disgusting behavior. It's hard to believe that was me, looking back on it now."

Return To The Masters

Tiger's return for the 2010 season at the Master's started strong, but he ended the tournament tied for fourth place. He then went on to shoot his second-worst game of his career as a pro at the Quail Hollow Championship later that month. In May, he withdrew from the Player's Championship because of a neck injury. It was the beginning of the most uneven year of play of his career.

2010 continued along the same storyline, with Tiger missing events or performing poorly. He took breaks to regroup, but his previous strength seemed diminished.

However, it was a testament to the huge lead he had overall as a player that he finished the season ranked No. 2 in the world.

Gradually Rebuilding

Tiger Woods has struggled with injuries on and off through 2011, but he's gradually returning to dominant form. He's had ligament and Achilles tendon pain, and couldn't play at the U.S. Open or the British Open. He also attracted (even more) controversy when he unceremoniously fired his longtime caddy, Steve Williams. His new caddy is Adam Scott.

Tiger Woods missed the cut for the 2011 PGA Championship for the first time, and he also didn't qualify for the FedEx Cup. Finally, by year's end and ror the first time in two years, Tiger stood on the winner's podium at the Chevron Challenge in Sherman Oaks, CA, on December 4th.

With a victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational on March 25, 2013, Tiger Woods finally regained the ranking as the world's No.1 golfer -- a position he gave up in October 2010.